Lansdale: A town at the crossroads

Our town is at a crossroads; coming upon us quickly on May 21. Yes, itís Primary day. I will be running for re-election as a Republican candidate. However, I am not the candidate endorsed by the local Republicans. Iíve been ostracized for not being a good club member by not attending meetings or promoting Republican interests. However, it seems interesting that the candidate they have chosen to endorse in this election, Mr. Tom Work, was very involved in the bi-partisan team I ran with in 2009, looking out for the good of our town and not the interests of any political party. I guess Mr. Work now waves the Republican flag? At the clubís recent endorsement meeting, I was chastised and called an utter failure as a councilman by Mr. Frank Bartle, the clubís hairman. Mr. Bartle, a skilled attorney, then began a very carefully choreographed inquisition. After about 20 minutes of this, there was no chance anyone in that room was going to think I was a good candidate. My mention of a 30 percent reduction in crime by investing in our police department, a borough with a balanced budget and other things that I had a hand in were quickly dismissed. Regardless of the opinions of Mr.Bartle, I have always put Lansdale first and always will.

The true criticism of anyone who holds public office comes from those he represents, not from members of a local political party. Thatís the crossroads Lansdale now faces. The electorate must make a choice of the direction Lansdale takes. It must look at the candidate and what they represent as well as their accomplishments while in office and not the will of a political party. Look at Washington D.C. folks. Thereís much to be done, but party politics just get in the way. They just keep pointing fingers at each other, and do nothing to solve any problems. No one just says that mistakes were made, letís just fix them and move on! In my entire time on council, Iíve tried to do just that. Fix problems and not fix blame.

Once all the rhetoric, explanations and promises are made, it all boils down to what is right for Lansdale and its residents no matter what party they are members of. If you decide that I have done a bad job and decide not to allow me to get past the primary in May, I can accept that. I will serve out the rest of my term to the best of my abilities and step aside. Iíll offer no apologies and simply say that I did the absolute best that I could. But I would be extremely disappointed if I was passed over because people think that the interests of some political party is going to do what is best for them. If a recent vote on the biggest private investment toward revitalization in Lansdaleís history is any indication of what Mr. Work is looking out for, itís sure not the best interests of our town. Mr. Work voted against the Madison Lot project. His reason when questioned about it was ďno comment.Ē I think Mr. Work needs to explain how he thinks a privately-funded revitalization project by a management company like Equus, working in concert with SEPTA, that has the potential of generating $750,000 of annual revenue for the borough, is bad for Lansdale. Iíd like to know why, too.

Itís in your hands now folks. I love this town and Lansdale first is my priority!